Introduction
Experiential learning is one of the most important methods that people from the academe, most especially educators apply to help students develop his/her emotional, cognitive, and social values. Experiential learning is basically learning through first-hand experience, action, discovery, and exploration. It is important for observational learners which needs actual application of concepts to understand it (Brock et al., 2012). Immersing oneself in an unfamiliar territory is an important way to teach people, especially students, on what it is really like to be part of a certain community, and it is also one way for them to understand why people act or think the way they do. Experiential learning does not only include the reception of information, but also reflection upon the information that one obtains (Kolb, n.d). On way of doing experiential learning, is through engaging in ethnographic observations, which refers to the long term exposure of oneself to a community in order to know the cultures and traditions of that certain place.
The Eaton Centre Observation
The Eaton Centre is a shopping mall located in Toronto, Canada. The Eaton Centre is a public place, therefore, it is open to anyone who wishes to enter. Since it is a shopping mall, the main theme or atmosphere that revolves in Eaton Centre is the sense of consumerism and business. The place was constructed in a way that would really entice people to buy. From what I have observed during my visit, the Eaton Centre is full of people of different races, genders, and social status. The stalls are filled with diverse crowds of people. Factions and discrimination are not very evident at first sight. However, looking more closely, the atmosphere in Eaton center seems to attract or cultivate a sense of division and discrimination. This can be observed in the way the place was regulated. I observed that most of the time, the eyes of the store attendants were on the black shoppers. Most of the advertising depicted in the stalls that I have visited where also suggesting things that they present as necessities, when clearly they are not. Most of the clients Eaton Centre is catering to, are the ones who belong to the middle and upper echelon of the community. The developments that are currently happening in the world today have caused changes in many aspects of the society. These changes have brought issues in crisis in the world’s economy, and worsening cases of social and gender inequality (Naiman, 2012). This issue is affected by many factors such as the education system and how mass media reports these issues.
Mass Media and Consumption
Mass media is one of the ways for business companies to influence the consumers’ way of thinking. It cannot be denied that mass media is one of the greatest influences of how the society acts, thinks, and talks today. The way the mass media frames the messages shown in the television, internet and other forms of media circulating in the world today, greatly affects how the society perceives many things. One factor affecting this is the fact that most of the mass media companies nowadays are privately-owned, which reflects their nature of being profit-centered (Wilk, n.d).
The mass media have set the many trends and ways on how the society must think or react about certain issues in the society. One example is women objectification. The way mass media objectifies women greatly affects how women think and look at themselves. Nowadays, the society has created a stereotype that being white is always better than being black. Because of this, many women tend to consume whitening products in order to alter their skin color (Campanovo, 2013). Lastly, the way the mass media portrays women strongly affects how women look at themselves. One example is the notion of women that not being as ‘thin’ or ‘slim’ as other women, makes them less of a woman, which should never be felt by any woman, or any person for that matter (Berberick, 2010).
These stereotypes that the mass media tend to show to the society gives women the reason feel to feel that they have less self-worth (Kim & Lennon, 2007). The mass media creates an image that women ha the need to abide with the standards of the society on how they should or should not look. This highly affects the consumer values of women. They tend to choose products which will help them achieve the looks or the image that the mass media have set (Grabe, Hyde, & Ward, 2008). Social media also has a great effect on how people practice consumerism. Nowadays, people do not only buy products because of its usability, but also because it is something worthy to be posted on social media sites. The society has started creating the culture of egoism. In is a trend even in the modern times (Robson, 2013). Today, what the society has to say or think about one person is greatly valued. This is the standards and the culture that the mass media has inculcated in people. Mass media is now having the power over people, instead of just functioning as information disseminators and watchdogs for the people. This is an alarming issue because now, the media has the power to set the agenda and frame their stories in a way that would greatly influence how their viewers will think or act. Mass media creates this illusion that the products they advertise and promote are truly essential, and thus people need to buy them, when in fact, they really do not (Scheufele, 1999).
Race, Gender, Social Class, and Consumerism
Mass Media, education, and multiculturalism are some of the greatest contributors of how the society thinks as consumers and how they perceive the rest of the world. How these factors frame the issues that the society is facing now is one way of generalizing the entirety of the community. In my observation at Eaton Centre, I was able to see that the stalls that have the most number of consumers buying are the ones who have the products that seems to make people follow the mass media’s standards. This just shows, that what the mass media is offering us, is not the reality. These are mere simulations of what reality is for them (Shrum, n.d). It cannot be denied that how the mass media portrays gender, race, and social class greatly influences how the society shapes culture. This is an alarming fact because through communication, culture is produced and re-produced, and if this is the culture that gets passed on to the younger generations, imagine what would happen to the country.
Reflection
After observing at Eaton Centre, I had many realizations about how I view the world as a whole, and how media has indeed shaped the way we think and act. My sense of self did not change that much depending on the stores that I visited because I only spent a short amount of time in each one. The stores that I visited were mostly gadget stores, while I stayed away from clothing apparels, because I know it would take me a long time if I went there. The influence that it has brought to us is becoming quite alarming because having all the capability and resources, the media has all the means to manipulate how we, as consumers should act. After my observation task, I committed that I will be more critical in looking at the situations around me. I also realized how important it for us to be more critical in our judgements. With everything that I have observed at Eaton Centre, I realized how important it is that as early as now, we put a halt to the culture that the mass media has been inculcating unto us. The culture of discrimination and inequality should be stopped, before we could even pass this on to the future generations. In general, most of the people, including me, are blinded by the mass media. In most cases, people just ignore some of the critical aspects of the society which are more important than the entertainment that is acquired from these media.
References
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